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Tuesday with Tulsa: A Parent’s Perspective

Today’s Tuesday with Tulsa blog post was written by the parent of a current TU freshman. We asked Debbi M., from Thornton, Colorado, to tell us what it was like sending her son to The University of Tulsa. Here is Debbi’s response…

What an honor to be asked to contribute to the TU Admission blog! My name is Debbi M. and our son is enjoying his first year at TU, and I am excited to share how thrilled we are to be TU Parents!

Cody is our second child, and so we had already traveled the choosing-a-college path – but as parents we know it is different with each child. Cody wanted a college with a marching band and a good engineering program – he also wanted to maximize his International Baccalaureate credits.

High School Graduation

As parents we wanted him a little closer to home than when his sister went off to college, we wanted a safe & friendly campus, preferably smaller class sizes, taught by professors, and a Newman Center. Cody was very diligent in exploring a lot of different colleges, and we attended a lot of college fairs. Tulsa was not on his radar until a little later in the process when an admission counselor visited Thornton High School and we encouraged Cody to meet with him. We were aware of Tulsa’s reputation and we knew they respected and rewarded IB students. Once Cody & Justin met, TU moved to near the top of Cody’s list.

Justin was informative and attentive. Cody often received mail (often handwritten!) and emails from him as he would check in to see where we were in the process and to answer any questions Cody had. The list of possible colleges was narrowed down to 3 or 4 and TU was the only one that personally took an interest in Cody as a person. The other schools would send “canned” material but none of them personally reached out to Cody or to us. Every time we called to ask a question, whether it was to Justin or any other department at the college, they were always kind and helpful – like they had nothing else to do but help us.

The Office of Admission put Cody in touch with all the right people too – from alumni to the music department to the IB coordinator and so on! Cody felt important and wanted – and as a parent I can’t begin to say how much that put our minds at ease as we envisioned sending our child 800 miles away from home.

Cody's Welcome Message in Collins Hall

Cody and his Dad visited the campus in January; again the Office of Admission took care of everything! From the moment they arrived on campus they felt welcomed and at home. As we wrapped up the final paper work, we again were so pleased at how nice, helpful and attentive we found everyone to be.

Cody in his dorm room

Nothing has changed! Cody calls us often to tell us how glad he is he picked TU! When he struggled with class or homework issues he found several people very helpful, even if they couldn’t help they helped him find the right people. And the professors have been very nice and helpful and available outside of the classroom for questions and suggestions.

As parents we feel so blessed to have found TU – they care for our son, we know he is learning, growing and experiencing life in a safe, friendly and health environment. We can’t say enough good things about TU and often can be heard singing the TU praises!